Returning from six months of global adventures, Marisa reunites with Rita at the Greenpoint Palace Bar to share stories from her travels across Europe and Asia that transformed her perspective on what truly matters in life.
When Marisa and her husband sold their restaurant, they made a deliberate choice not to wait for some distant retirement to see the world. Instead, they seized the present moment—while their bodies could still handle walking miles daily and their health allowed for adventure. Their journey took them through Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Mexico, Taiwan, and Thailand, each destination offering unique insights and unexpected lessons.
Through conversations with locals, particularly those in the service industry with strong English skills, Marisa gained profound understanding of universal challenges facing different communities. In Portugal, she witnessed how corporations were buying historic properties, driving out aging residents who'd lived there for generations. In various cities, she observed how young people struggled with housing costs, often living with parents into their thirties. Yet amid these challenges, she found beauty in seeing older couples walking hand-in-hand through European streets and the deliberate pace of life where people prioritized connection over convenience.
The conversation shifts to challenging common misconceptions about service industry careers. Both hosts celebrate how bartending and service work provide the freedom to pursue creative passions, travel extensively, and design unconventional life paths without the constraints of corporate schedules. As Marisa notes, "We don't have examples writing this script for us," acknowledging how their generation must forge new approaches to work-life planning in a world where traditional career trajectories have largely disappeared.
Now back in New York, Marisa has gained deeper appreciation for her neighborhood community—the familiar faces, the casual greetings, and the grounding sense of belonging that she missed while away. As she puts it, "Travel fortifies you when you're choosing change and choosing to be uncomfortable... it helps fortify you when change comes at you that you don't choose."
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